courageous woman, and she knew that the bell-rope, wherewith she could rouse the whole house, was at hand—but she felt a certain trepidation, which even the bravest of her sex must feel, thinking that from one moment to another a man—a bold young scoundrel—might come in from the open casement. Still such was her fortitude that she awaited his coming with a lusty heart.
Meanwhile she kept thinking of her niece, and of the best way to remedy and patch up what had happened ; she recalled to mind her own unfortunate past, that day in the country when hid behind some bushes she saw the young groom bathing quite naked in the river, and the fit of quivering that came over her, when she saw his well-developed manly parts. Then she remembered how she went to see him again and again, then all that followed.
In the midst of her reflections she heard a slight noise outside. She turned round and she saw the shutters open quietly, and a man’s form appear on the sill. At that moment—with all her bravery—fear over-
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